Golden Wedding-Congratulations are due Mr and Mrs Hattle, 77 Low Greens, who on Sunday attained their golden wedding. Mr and Mrs Hattle were married at the Registry Office, Berwick, on the 18th April, 1885. Mrs Hattle’s maiden name was Isabella Elispeth Burgen. Although they have both passed the three score and ten- Mr Hattle being 75 and Mrs Hattle 71- they carry their years exceedingly well.
Golden Wedding celebration badge.
For a few years Mr Hattle followed the occupation of his father as a fisherman but afterwards entered the employment of the North British Railway Company where he remained for 40 years as porter at Berwick Station, retiring in 1910. Mr and Mrs Hattle have had twelve of a family of which five daughters and two sons are living, one son and two daughters having died. One of the surviving sons, Mr Thomas Hattle, is a postmaster in South Africa, and the other son James is at present serving in the auxiliary cruiser H.M.S “Macedonia” on which he took part in the Falkland Islands engagement. Two of Mr Hattle’s daughters are married and of these marriages there are six grandchildren. Mr Hattle has been a constant reader of the “Berwick Advertiser” for the past fifty years and during that period he has also been a staunch teetotaller. It is our hope that Mr and Mrs Hattle will be long spared to enjoy the evening of their life.
Information from the 1891 Census:
John Hattle aged 51 was living with Isabella Elspeth Hattle, his wife aged 46 at 13 Low Greens Berwick -upon-Tweed, Northumberland with their children Isabella Elspeth 17, Thomas 15, Alice 12, James 8, Mary Burgon 6, and Christina 3 ½ .
23rd April, 1915
THE PLAYHOUSE
“The Playhouse.” – Again programmes of outstanding merit are displayed at the “Playhouse” this week. The star turn of the week is “The Fordyce Family or the Lads of the Highland Brigade.” In their military speciality act they provide an entirely up-to-date and novel turn. They dance cleverly to Scotch tunes and introduce some very intricate step-dancing. The rifle spinning and dancing at the same time is very cleverly performed, and no one could be but pleased with their performance. The excellence of their turn is exemplified by the fact that they have had to respond nightly to encores. in the bioscope exhibition.
Berwick Advertiser, 23 April 1915. The Playhouse, Sandgate, Berwick-upon-Tweed, advert for The Fordyce Family.
“The Trap” was the feature at the beginning of the week. It was a thrilling drama in three parts and featured Irene Bordini. The picture for the week commencing on Thursday, is entitled “The Black Countess.” It is a photo play that is fascinating in every respect and a film all should see. A splendid programme is billed for next week. The turns are “Ford and Lewis, the Scotchman and the-?” and “Jessie Adams, ” a dainty comedienne with a style of her own. The feature of the first part of the week is “The Loss of the Birkenhead” which is a thoroughly British picture portraying a well told story, finely produced and excellent photography. It is exclusive to this hall. For the second part of the week there is a laughable Keystone Comedy entitled “The Property Man” in two parts. Charles Chaplin is in the leading part and it gets funnier and funnier as it goes on. The feature for the latter part of the week is a strong drama entitled “The Night Watchman’s Daughter.
‘Escaping from the Kaiser’ by H.W. Tustin is published by Pen & Sword Books.
In the spring of 2013, I came across a dusty old manuscript at my mother’s house in Somerset. It turned out to be my grandfather’s memoir, written about his experiences during the Great War. Reading it was quite a revelation. Not only was it dramatic and well written, but also a fascinating historical document, providing a thorough and vivid description of life in a WWI German PoW camp – an aspect of history that has, I have subsequently discovered, been little explored by historians. I decided to try to have it published, hoping that it might appear in print while the author’s daughter, my now 85-year-old mother, was still around to read it. I am pleased to say that the memoir – ‘Escaping from the Kaiser’ by Herbert Tustin – has just been published by Pen & Sword Books, much to the delight of my mother.
My grandfather’s memoir begins with him in Northern France in April 1915, en route to the Second Battle of Ypres with his regiment, the 8th Durham Light Infantry. He describes how the initial mood of ‘glorious adventure’ gave way to much darker emotions as they neared the battle zone and the grim realities of war become ever more apparent. The 8th Durhams were sent to the most critical section of the allied line, the extreme head of the Ypres Salient. Outgunned and outnumbered, their position was hopeless. The regiment was decimated by the German bombardment, and those that survived were forced into a desperate retreat, during which my grandfather was captured, along with a great many of his comrades.
Following capture, my grandfather and his fellow captives endured an arduous three-day rail journey in cattle trucks to Rennbahn PoW camp, just outside the German city of Münster. Here he was to spend 16 months, and a large portion of his memoir is devoted to describing this experience in great detail: the hunger, hardships and brutalities; the prison work; the character of the various nationalities; the activities and recreations; and the friendships and humour.
Reunited sweethearts Herbert and Sybil. This photo was taken after Tustin’s escape, just outside his family home in Ponteland, Northumberland, England.
Conditions at Rennbahn were tough, but my grandfather made the best of the situation, participating in many of the prisoner-organised activities, including accompanying at the piano for theatrical productions, playing the organ during church services and helping to edit the PoW church magazine. Nevertheless, thoughts of escape ran constantly in his mind. According to a recently acquired recording of an interview with his friend and 8th Durham comrade, Private William Stephenson (1894–1995), my grandfather decided to escape because he got word that a ‘young lieutenant’ was paying too much attention to his sweetheart Sybil, which troubled him greatly and made him determined to return to England as soon as possible. He had met Sybil, who was to become his wife, while they were both trainee teachers at the College of St Hild and St Bede in Durham, and their relationship was kept alive during the war through a frequent exchange of letters.
Whatever mix of emotions inspired my grandfather, they must certainly have been very strong, as attempting to escape was an incredibly risky venture: Rennbahn was surrounded by a triple girdle of barbed wire, with the middle wire carrying a lethal electric charge. Armed guards were posted at every entrance, and watch-dogs patrolled the perimeter fence, which was illuminated by powerful arc lamps. Any would-be escapee who succeeded in breaking free from the camp still needed to cross 50 miles of enemy territory before reaching the safety of neutral Holland. In addition to these formidable difficulties, my grandfather had the sobering knowledge that all previous British escape attempts had failed, and that he would be severely punished if caught. Finally, as if he needed reminding of the dangers, within less than a month of making his own bid for freedom, a French prisoner was shot and killed in the act of attempting to escape.
Rennbahn PoW camp: a view overlooking one of the four blocks. The trees in the distance could not be seen by the prisoners, for no windows opened onto the outside. Rennbahn, one of nearly 300 German PoW camps, was a fairly typical ‘Mannschaftslager’ (a camp for ordinary soldiers rather than commissioned officers) and held as many as 10,000 prisoners of many different nationalities.
My grandfather’s first effort to escape was by tunnelling out of the camp. He and an 8th Durham comrade, Private Thomas B. Dickinson (called ‘Hicky’ in my grandfather’s memoir), also an alumnus of Bede College, took over a tunnel that had been abandoned by other prisoners. They set to their digging work with great enthusiasm, but the increasing moisture and stench, which they suspected was coming from the camp sewers, forced them also to abandon the tunnel.
Not to be defeated, in the summer of 1916, my grandfather conspired with Canadian PoW Gerrie Burk on an alternative plan: this involved cutting the wire beneath one of the entrance gates, which were not electrified but kept under constant armed guard. The idea was to choose a stormy night, wait for the sentry to disappear into the shelter of his box, less than four yards from the gate, creep up, cut the wires and crawl beneath the gate to freedom. It is difficult to see how this audacious plan could have succeeded, but the fact that they were resolved to carry it out says a lot about their determination and courage.
Fortunately, they came up with a better plan: on the pretext of visiting some sick friends, they inveigled their way into the camp hospital, which was just outside the main camp and away from the electric wire. Here they were helped by their PoW friends, one being Private Alfred J. Cleeton (of the 7th Canadians), who by good luck had befriended the watch-dog and was thus able to keep it at bay. Seizing their moment and with the sentries only yards away, the intrepid duo made their dash up and over the ten-foot barbed wire, lacerating their hands horribly in the process, before making good their escape.
For the next nine days they headed for Holland, travelling by night and hiding during daylight hours. Increasingly weak and hungry, they supplemented their small food supply with whatever they could find – wild berries, vegetables foraged from fields and apples stolen from orchards. Each day of their nerve-wracking journey brought new dangers: roving hunters, barking dogs, road blocks, treacherous bogs, children at play and even run-away bulls – all of which threatened to expose their presence and bring their dreams of freedom to an abrupt and inglorious end. Somehow, they managed to avoid recapture, despite the closest of calls. Exhausted almost beyond their ability to continue and only yards from neutral territory, they were met by a fusillade of shots fired at them by German frontier guards. Luckily, it being night-time, they managed to evade the guards and, finding sanctuary in a ditch, crawled slowly forwards, inching past a German sentry before finally crossing the Dutch border to safety and freedom.
The original pencilled escape map. It is remarkable that this map, drawn on thin, poor quality paper, survived the arduous ten-day escape journey. It is yet more remarkable that it still exists, a century after its creation.
On arriving in Holland, they were relieved to meet a friendly group of soldiers, who accompanied them to the nearby town of Enschede. The Dutch authorities, having verified their story, treated them with the utmost kindness and sent them under escort to Rotterdam, where the British Consul arranged their passage on the first boat leaving for England. Their voyage was a perilous one, for the previous four ships to leave Rotterdam had been torpedoed by German U-boats. Fortunately, their vessel, the SS Grenadier, was able to navigate its way across the mine-strewn, submarine-infested North Sea, to arrive safely in Newcastle on Tyne on 18 September.
My grandfather’s amazing story of war, imprisonment, survival and escape, enhanced by original photographs, concludes with an epilogue by my grandmother. Writing some 20 years after her husband’s death, she recalls his welcome home, the joyful reunion and his proposal of marriage.
Herbert Tustin with his family – wife Sybil, daughter Lynette and son Graham – in Teesdale, c.1936.
Tustin as an officer cadet in 1917. After his escape, he received a commission and was posted to garrison duty in South Africa, where he served out the rest of the war.
Sadly, I never knew my grandfather, whose life was cut short when he died of cancer in 1939. I am grateful, however, that he left such a dramatic and wonderfully written wartime memoir. Having it published has been something of a personal tribute, and I am proud to be related to a man who showed such courage under so much adversity. I am also delighted that that his story – ‘Escaping from the Kaiser’ by Herbert Tustin – is now available to be read and enjoyed by everyone.
We would like to express our sincere appreciation to Richard Corr [grandson of Herbert Tustin] in supplying this article for the Northumberland At War Project.
Word was received about 9.30 o’clock last night that hostile airships were in the vicinity and had dropped bombs on Blyth. Precautionary methods were immediately taken. The electric light power was immediately switched off at the Urban Electric Works, and house-holders were ordered to extinguish all lights and the town was soon plunged into complete darkness. When the picture houses closed the people who had composed the audiences experienced considerable difficulty in reaching their homes owing to the intense darkness. Probably High Street was the most difficult to navigate and much good humored chaff could be heard as people tried to evade each other in the inky darkness. Fortunately, Berwick was not visited by the Zeppelin.
World War One: the German zeppelin Viktoria Luise emerging from its hangar. Wellcome Library, London. Copyrighted work available under Creative Commons Attribution only licence CC BY 4.0.
ST. ANDREW’S NURSING CLASS BERWICK
Results of Examination.
Social meeting and Presentation.
On Thursday evening the members of the Berwick St Andrew’s Nursing Class held a social meeting in the Long Room of the Corn Exchange.
The hall was gaily decorated with patriotic flags, flowers, and evergreens, and there was a touch of enthusiasm in all the preparations which at once engendered in the guests that feeling of welcome and sociability so essential in making such a gathering a success. Those present readily indulged in the games and dances, and, after an hour’s enjoyment in this way, were just in the right mood to receive the more formal part of the evening’s proceedings with a spirit which made all feel quite at ease.
The Mayor (Councillor Wilson) was accompanied to the chair by the Mayoress, the Sheriff, Dr and Mrs Maclagan, Miss Anthony, Matron of the Borough Hospital, and Miss Gradon, convenor of the Class Committee.
THE CLASS WORK.
On behalf of Miss Anthony, the Mayor read the following report on the origin and work of the class during the winter:-
Very soon after war was declared, the Mayor asked me, would I be willing to teach bandaging, bed-making, etc., to about twenty ladies, so that they might be useful in the event of temporary hospitals being opened for wounded. I consented. This was the beginning of our ambulance class. Owing to unforeseen circumstances, the classes were not started until 14th September. At the first meeting twenty eight members were enrolled. The classes grew rapidly, chiefly owing to the enthusiasm of the members, and Miss Cockburn, who was appointed class secretary. At the end of September there were 42 names on the roll. It became necessary to seek a larger room. We secured the Parochial Hall, but owing to the arrival of wounded, we had to vacate it after three weeks. Captain Kimberley very kindly granted us the use of the Army Hall. Our next step was a decision to try for the “Home Nursing and Hygiene Certificate of St Andrew’s Ambulance Association.”…..
Thirty-seven sat for the examination, and all have obtained certificates…..
….In reviewing the report, the Mayor said he had no idea that the Nursing Class had assumed the size which it had, and he was glad to think that out of the little conversation which he had had with Miss Anthony prior to the commencement of the class so much good had accrued. He was delighted to know that success had attended their efforts, and that everyone who had gone up for examination had obtained certificate. He understood that they had worked very hard during the winter, and he had to congratulate both the Doctor and Miss Anthony on the results. There was, unfortunately, a great deal of fighting to be done at the front yet, and he was afraid that there would be many wounded soldiers in consequence. Berwick was ready and willing to do its share, and he believed that the services of some of the members of the class would be needed. Not only were they equipping themselves to be of use in this direction, but the knowledge gained would be of advantage to them in many ways. he trusted that all of them would maintain their connection with the class during the summer and next winter, would go up for the medallion of the Association……………………..
